Monthly Archives: November 2012

Friday Cat-erpillar Blogging: Tubercles

Posted on November 23, 2012 by jjneal

Tubercles are small rounded outgrowths present on some species of caterpillars. Tubercles are sometimes a defining characteristic of a caterpillar. For example, the gypsy moth caterpillar, Lymantria dispar, has rows of tubercles, five blue rows anterior and 6 red rows … Continue reading →

Posted in by jjneal, Caterpillar Blogging, Taxonomy | 1 Comment

Thanksgiving Feast

Posted on November 22, 2012 by jjneal

They crowd onto the trail The mass of congestion moves slowly but determinedly forward to the destination. There they consume mass quantities of food, a veritable feast. Finally, they are sated and crowd onto the congested road with the masses … Continue reading →

Posted in by jjneal, Environment | Leave a comment

Turkey Mosquitoes

Posted on November 21, 2012 by jjneal

During Thanksgiving, attention turns to the main feature of the feast, the turkey, Meleagris gallopavo. Turkeys are omnivores and feed on a variety of seeds and insects. Like many poultry, turkeys add insect meat to their diet by gobbling the … Continue reading →

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Bubonic Plague in the 4 Corners

Posted on November 20, 2012 by jjneal

Bubonic plague is caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis. During past epidemics, bubonic plague has spread through human populations, often killing substantial numbers. In between the human epidemics, Yersinia pestis never disappears completely. Rodent populations in desert areas of the … Continue reading →

Posted in by jjneal, Environment, Health, News | Leave a comment

Yellow Fever in the US: The Final Battle

Posted on November 19, 2012 by jjneal

In 1900, Walter Reed’s team in Cuba produced solid evidence for the “Mosquito Doctrine of Yellow Fever Conveyance”. This doctrine allowed medical and public health personnel to focus on eliminating mosquito breeding sites and isolating infected patients from mosquitoes as … Continue reading →

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Living With Fever Season

Posted on November 18, 2012 by jjneal

After the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1793 in Philadelphia, new epidemics would continue to appear sporadically in the United States in the following years. Substantial information pointed to importation as the source of disease. In fact, many epidemics could be … Continue reading →

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Living With Yellow Fever

Posted on November 17, 2012 by jjneal

Yellow Fever is not a disease that many associate with the United States. Today, Yellow Fever is largely confined to tropical areas of Africa and South America. The most recent outbreak is in Sudan. The WHO estimates about 200,000 cases … Continue reading →

Posted in by jjneal, Health | 2 Comments